Childhood cancer research is an underdeveloped subsection of cancer research. So underdeveloped that it only receives approximately four percent of the funding that goes to cancer research. This is a paltry number in comparison to the breadth of this epidemic that is spreading in children at an average of 1 in 285 kids before they turn 20 years old.
In 2015 Americans spent:
$117 billion on fast food
$96 billion on beer
$70.15 billion on lottery tickets
$65 billion on soft drinks
$54.857 billion at bars and restaurants
$17.8 billion on sports tickets
$16 billion on chocolate
$13.1 billion on video games
$11 billion on coffee
$11 billion on bottled water
$7.5 billion on potato chips
$4.2 billion on perfume
$2.3 billion on tattoos
$500 million each on Twinkies, pretzels, and golf balls.
Yet we only spent $198 million on pediatric cancer research that’s less than 2.6 % of what we spent on potato chips.
Pediatric cancer kills more kids than Asthma, Cystic Fibrosis, Diabetes, Pediatric aids and congenital anomalies combined.
Every school day 46 kids are diagnosed with cancer.
1 in 285 children will have this disease by the age of 20.
1 in 5 children diagnosed with cancer will die within 5 years.
If each of us would just pick one of the items above and give it up once and donate that money to researching to finding the cure, we could change the lives of those children and hopefully one day wipe out childhood cancer all together.
You can donate to finding the cure here https://www.stbaldricks.org/participants/Jeannagoesbald2018
All liquid earnings from this post will be donated to St. Baldricks for use in research of pediatric cancer cures.